In The Flash recap for the season two premiere, Barry runs into a new challenge and finds out there’s someone new gunning for him….
By Chris Smolinski — special to Nerdcore Movement
After a quick recap of the previous season we see Barry-er the Flash fighting the hot and cold duo, Captain Cold and Heatwave. Flash gets a little roughed up but Firestorm come to help and they take down the two bad guys. Barry then goes back to Star labs but we find out it’s all just a day-dream, a wish. Barry is actually standing in star labs all alone. One of the computers beep and Barry is off to do his day job, as a forensic scientist.
My name is Barry Allen, and I am the fastest man alive. Don’t you just love hearing that every week, I know I do. After the new intro, which is cool, Papa Joe and Barry are standing next to a dead body. Barry explains, through the weird small talk, that the guy has been strangled by someone very big and very strong. Is it a meta-human???
Cisco, Papa Joe, and Iris are all at the police station, wait I know Iris is a reporter but how is it she is everywhere? Anyway, the three of them talk about how to get Barry out of his lone wolf faze. Papa Joe decides Iris is the one that should try to help. Iris shows up to her old stomping grounds, Gitters, and sees Barry cleaning up. After a construction worker joke, not that funny, Iris tries to get Barry to open up and let the people of Central City in and give then their hero. Barry is too upset about the people they lost during ground zero, the singularity event, and blames himself for it all.
Barry then has a Flash-back, see what I did there? Anyway, He flashes back to the dreaded singularity day and how he couldn’t get the vortex to close on his own. Ronnie and Dr. Stein (Firestorm) join Barry but the explosion destroys Ronnie and only the Doc makes it out alive. Dang it, I’m a big fan of Ronnie. If only we could see Firestorm some more…
Woohoo, it’s finally here. It’s “Flash Day” and the whole town has showed up to cheer on their very own superhero. The mayor begins with a small speech and then presents the key to the city to, no one. Flash didn’t show up…oh phew there he is, just a little late. The crowd erupts with excitement, Barry even flashes, ha, a smile and a wave. A tall dark and hooded man pushes his way through the crowd, and throws a-hotdog cart? at Barry and the mayor, but they get out of the way. Papa Joe and Cisco jump into action as they try to use Cisco’s new “boot” invention. It works, oh wait no it doesn’t. The big man just breaks right out of it as he grows himself to a monstrous size. Flash has an idea to throw some gas tanks at him, and tells Papa Joe to shoot them as he does. This seems to work as the explosion shrinks the man down and his metal mask comes off for a second. It reveals that the big man is, wait how can it be the dead guy from earlier?
Papa Joe and Cisco learn more about the big bad guy, Al Rothstein. Cisco then makes a visit to Mercury Labs for our first look at Caitlyn Snow, well actually its Caitlyn Raymond now, or it was…anyway, Cisco has her, after some coaxing, look at some nuke chip to see if it was tampered with. The scene then cuts to Barry in his lab, when a lawyer shows up and says Barry is going to lose Star Labs unless he watches Dr. Wells “will”. Barry pockets it, and heads to Star labs, where he finds Papa Joe, Cisco, Dr. Stein, and Iris, see she is everywhere, all working on how to find and stop this Atom Smasher, nice job Dr. Stein. They pinpoint where he is and Barry takes off all lone wolf style, again. The best the team can do is hack the cameras to watch, as Barry tries to fight Atom. It doesn’t go well and Barry soon finds himself being, repeatedly, smashed against the wall. Dr. Stein has the idea to set off the alarms to distract Atom, hoping it gives Barry a chance to run. It works and as Barry gets back to Star labs, he passes out. While he is out, Barry has a flashback to just a few months into Papa Joe and his new arrangement. Barry refuses to eat, and Papa Joe explains to him how to use his emotions for good and not just to be angry all the time. This is one of their first bonding moments. Barry wakes up to find Papa Joe at his side, and the two have a new bonding moment that seems to wake Barry out of this alone funk he has been in.
Barry visits Mercury labs, I think for the first time since Cait started there, and tries to apologize to her. He has held on to the fact that he is responsible for Ronnie’s death, but Caitlyn tells him it’s more her fault than anyone. Dr. Well’s “will” falls out of Barry’s pocket, and the two of them decide to watch it together. It is a detailed confession of Wells saying that he killed Nora 14 years ago. Barry calls Papa Joe and sets up a team meeting at Star Labs. Will this new news be enough to set Henry free?
After getting some positive news from Papa Joe, Barry talks to his team and they all decide on how to defeat Atom. They have Barry lead him to a power plant and they try to overload him on radiation. It works, and before he dies Atom divulges to Barry that he was promised a trip home if he killed Barry. He says that ZOOM is behind it all.
Buzzzzzz at the gate and out strolls Henry for the first time in nearly 15 years. They have a big celebration for him at Papa Joe’s house. Everyone is having a great time, Cisco even gets his very own police badge. Dr. Stein gives a great speech, and Barry pulls dad aside to talk about them finding an apartment together. They then have a heart to heart, these two always make you feel the feels, and Henry explains that he can’t stay. He wants his boy, the superhero, to be the best he can be, and he can’t if dad is around.
The scene cuts to Barry telling Papa Joe that his dad is gone, and how he feels like he has no family. Papa Joe shows Barry all his “family” at Star labs, and it seems to help him. The team runs through some of the upgrades to Star labs, especially the part about the security system and how people won’t be able to just walk in without them knowing…er enter a tall shadowy figure that puts everyone on edge. He steps into the light and say he is Jay Garrick, the original flash, and how he is there to help.
This was a great first episode for season two. Much like season one, it gave you the right mix of action, and even some feels. I’m super excited to see where this goes, and can’t wait to see all the new Flashes that appear. Leave me a comment on who you are most excited to see this season.
